Scaffold



Feb. 16,- 1943. s, CASTNER 2,311,210

I SCAFFOLD Filed Feb. '20, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 i U 10W 24 17 wm ml 1 JPatented Feb. 16, 1943 UNITED STATESFPATENT OFFICE SGAFFOLD Theron S.Castner, Minneapolis, Minn.

Application February 20, 1941, Serial No. 379,746

7 Claims.

This invention relates to scaffolding apparatus angular sections andolTset sections without the necessity of resorting to special featuresof construction except in some slight details. Another object of theinvention is to provide a scaffolding structure including uprightmembers and scaffold board brackets with improved means for connectingthe brackets to the uprights so that the brackets are easily adjustablevertically with respect to the uprights and wherein an entirely safe andrigid connection is made between the scaffold board bracket and theupright. Another object of the invention is to provide an upright andbracket means as well as a brace connector wherein the bracket can beconnected to the upright in the same manner and with the same means asthe brace connector or wherein the bracket itself can be utilized toproperly support the brace connector.

v These and other objects and advantages of the invention will morefully appear from the following description made in connection with theaccompanying drawings, wherein likereference characters refer to thesame parts throughout theviews, and, in which:

Fig. l is a fragmentary diagrammatic elevation of a building structurewith my scaffolding "erected thereagainst;

' Fig. 2 is a fragmentary diagrammatic plan of a portion of a buildingstructure showing a number of sections of erected scafiolding;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

' Fig.4 is an enlarged detail of a particularly type of bracketarrangement;

Fig. 5 is a perspective View of a scaffold board bracket;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of a brace connector; and

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a supporting foot for one of the uprighttubings.

: The scaffolding includes a plurality of uprights made of sections oftubing l0 having a plurality of oppositely disposed openings ma spacedlongitudinally of the tubing, and the'tubin'g sections angle iron 23, asalso shown in Figs. 3 and 5,.extends above the horizontal bracket memberll to prevent the scaffold boards .24 from slipping Ill may be coupledtogether by suitable couplings II to form uprights of the desiredheight. The uprights may be anchored in any desired position by means ofbraces l2, each of which may be anchored at an end to-a portion of thebuilding structure with suitable fastening means such as nails. Meansfor anchoring the braces I! to the uprights I0 is illustrated in Fig. 6which shows a brace connector l3 made up of a pair of upper and lowerU-shaped elements connected by'pairs of webs l4 and a single web l5. Thewebs id have openings l 6 formed therethrough intermediate their ends.The brace connectors l3 can be vertically positioned with regard to theuprights [0 by placing nails or pins through a pair of aligned aperturesIlla. in the uprights Ill and permitting the brace connectors L3 to restthereupon. The end of a Wooden brace member I? is then inserted betweenthe pairs of webs l4 on the connectors 13 and the braces may be securedto the connectors l3 by nails driven through one or more of the openingsit in the webs l4. Of course, it should be understood that the U-shapedmembers of the brace connector I3 are of such size as to permit thebrace board l2 to extend across the arms of the U-shaped members withoutbeing obstructed by one of the uprights IEI which lies inthe closedportion of said U-shaped members.

As indicated in the upper portion of Fig. 2 a single brace connector canbe used for a pair of the braces l2 by inserting the end of one brace inthe connector and then nailing the other brace to the exposed end of thefirst brace.

In Fig. 5 there is shown a perspective view of a scafiold board bracketA which includes a substantially horizontal upper member I! having au-shaped end portion [3, and the arms of said U-shaped portion areprovided with pairs of aligned apertures I9 and also a pair of smalleraligned apertures 20; A lower bracket member 2| is connected to theupper bracket member I! by means of vertical pieces of angle iron 22 and23. The vertical iron 22 connects the bracket members I! and 2| adjacentthe inner ends of said members, and, the vertical angle iron 23 connectstheir outer ends and at said outer ends the two bracket members arecloser together, thus positioning the lower bracket member 2i at anincline as is clearly shown in Figs. 3 and .5. The

outwardly off. the ends ofsaid scaffold board brackets. On the inner orleft-hand end of the bracket A, as viewed in Fig. 5, the lower member 2|is provided with an angular offset 25 which with the left-hand end ofthe member 2! forms a generally U-shaped end portion which is disposedoppositely to the U-shaped end is of the upper bracket member If. The Uportion of the member I? is adapted to lie partially around one side ofan upright H3, and the U-shaped end of the member 2| will lie partiallyabout an opposite portion of one of the uprights in downwardly spacedrelation thereto. A nail or pin can then be inserted through the opening2! in the upper bracket member [I and through a pair of aligned openingsla in the upright iii to prevent the bracket A from slipping downwardlyrelatively to the upright 19. an upright the brackets A have their upperportions l1 disposed in a horizontal plane as is clearly shown in Fig.3.

It should, of course, be understood that the brackets A can be placed onthe uprights if] at any desired elevation by tilting the brackets andslipping the U-shaped end portion I 3 around the uprights and thenplacing the angular extensions 25 partially about the uprights.

As indicated in Fig. l the brace connectors l3 can be placed about theuprights It between the upper and lower portions l I and 2| of thebrack- When applied to V ets A to retain said connectors in position.Thus it is unnecessary to provide additional means for preventing saidconnectors 3 for moving vertically on the uprights Ii). Furthermore, theuprights 22 on the brackets A are placed inwardly V secured to theuprights by brace connectors l3.

These center and right-hand uprights lb have scaffold board brackets Amounted thereon and extending inwardly toward the building structure B.Scaffold boards 24 are placed upon and extended between the brackets A.The left-hand upright if] in the upper left corner of Fig. 2 has ascaffold board bracket A mounted thereon in the manner described above.Extending between the U-shaped portions of the brackets A on the threeuprights at the upper portion of Fig. 2 are tie rods 25, and ends of thetie rods 28 extend through the apertured U-shaped ends 8 of the upperbracket member I? and are secured against displacement by pins or nails2?, such as are shown in Fig. 3. These tie rods further brace thestructure to lend rigidity to the entire unit.

It should be noted in Fig. 2 that the tie rods 26 at the adjacent endsof a pair of rods are placed laterally of each other, the end of one rodextendin through a pair of aligned openings 19 in the bracket A and theend of the other rod extending through the adjacent aligned openings ISin said bracket A.

A pair of the scaffold boards 2d extend downwardly from the upper leftcorner of Fig. 2 to a bracket A on an upright tubing H] which isdisposed substantially at right-angles to the middle and right-handuprights If! at the upper end of Fig. 2 relative to lines drawn fromsaid uprights to that upright at the upper left-hand corner. A tie rod26 has its lower end straight and extended through the U-shaped end ofthe upper member I! on the bracket A, and its upper end is provided withan angularly disposed portion 28a which lies at right-angles to theremainder of the tie rod 26 and extends through a pair of alignedapertures in the U-shaped end 18 in the upper left-hand corner of Fig.2. This latter arrangement is shown best at the left-hand side of Fig.4.

An offset section to be built around a bay window b is made by extendinga scaffold board bracket A out in an opposite direction to a similarlydisposed bracket in the manner shown in Fig. 3, and it is thus apparentthat it is possible not only to arrange the scaffolding to extend indifferent directions, but also in offset parallel relationships to otherportions of the scaffold.

In the lower left-hand portionof Fig. 2 there is ShOWn an inside corner28, and in this case, as is illustrated, it is possible to still utilizethe same conventional structures to obtain the desired scaffoldformation.

The right-hand portion of Fig. 4 shows a pair of tie rods 26 whoseadjacent ends are connected by a short piece of tubing 29 which lies ata 45 degree angle to each of said tie rods 26. It is then possible todispose a scaffold board bracket A at an oblique angle if such anarrangement is desired at a corner. If desired the scaffold bracket maybe made longer as indicated by the dotted lines at A to afford bettersupport for the boards when the bracket is placed at such an angle.

In Fig. 7 there is shown a perspective view of a. plate '39 having apair of" upstanding lugs 3| WhlCh are adapted to receive the lowerportion of a short rod 32 therebetween which rod carries projecting pins33 pivotally connected with lugs iii. The plate 30 is also provided witha plurality of apertures 34 to permit the plate to be nailed to asupporting member such as a sloping roof where it is desired to extendscaffolding up above said roof. By reason of the anchored plate 30 therod 32 will be firmly retained in position on any slanting surface, anda tube i0 receiving the rod 32 telescopically therein at its lower endmay be properly anchored on a slanting surface.

In the first part of the description the sections of upright l9 werdescribed as being connected by coupling sleeves l I. However, it is, ofcourse, possible to connect these sections by means of connector pinssuch as shown at 34 in Fig. 1. Either form of upright section connectorcan be used as desired.

From the foregoing description it will be seen thatI have provided aknock-down scaffolding which can be used time after time, and wherein afew conventional parts can be made to suit conditions wherein variousshapes of building construction are encountered. The scaffolding isrelatively light yet extremely rigid and safe. Means is provided forconnecting the uprights to the building structure and also forinterconnecting adjacent uprights to increase the rigidity of the units.The scaffold boards can be placed at any desired level and when theboard supporting brackets are placed in position there is no likelihoodof the brackets becoming displaced or the boards slipping from thebrackets. A simple and effective form of brace connector is provided forsecuring the ends of the braces to the uprights and the tie rods areprovided with end connections to permit said rods to extend from thescaffold board brackets at different angles. When taken apart theseveral portions of the scaffolds can be compactly arranged fortransportation and storage.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made inthe form, details, arrangement and proportions of the various partswithout departing from the scope of my invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a scaffold structure, an upright, a substantially horizontalbracket member having a first portion at least partially encircling saidupright, a second bracket portion extending from said first bracketportion at a point spaced outwardly from said upright and engaging saidupright at a point spaced below said first bracket portion and extendingat least partially around said upright and contacting portions of saidupright in opposed relationship to the encircling portion of said firstmentioned bracket portion,

said bracket member being vertically slidable on said upright and meansfor detachably securing at least one of said bracket portions to saidupright to prevent vertical displacement of said bracket member.

2. In a scaffold structure, an upright, a bracket connected to saidupright and extending laterally therefrom and provided with asubstantially horizontal upper surface, and a brace connector comprisinga substantially U-shaped element lying partially about said upright andsupported by said bracket against vertical displacement, said braceconnector having a pair of arms extending outwardly beyond said uprightand having a pair of aligned openings therein to removably receive abrace therein.

3. In a scafiold structure, an upright, a substantially horizontallydisposed bracket member having a U-shaped end portion lying partiallyabout said upright, one arm of said U- shaped bracket end portion beingextended outwardly from said upright a short distance and the other armof said U-shaped bracket end portion being extended outwardly from saidupright a considerably greater distance, said bracket arms havingoppositely disposed apertures therein, the axes of said apertures beingdisposed outwardly beside said upright, a tie rod having an endextending through said apertures and secured against displacement fromsaid bracket member, means for anchoring the opposite end of said tierod, a bracket brace connected to said bracket member and extending froman outer portion thereof inwardly to said upright, and the inner end ofsaid bracket brace having a U- shaped portion lying partially about saidbracket, the open portion of said U-shaped bracket brace portion beingdisposed opposite to the U-shaped portion of said bracket member.

4. In a scafiold structure, a plurality of uprights, a scaffold boardbracket secured to one of said uprights and having a pair of aperturestherethrough adjacent said upright, a first horizontal tie rod extendingthrough one of said apertures and detachably secured to said bracket,said toe rod lying at substantially right-angles to said bracket, asecond tie rod extending through the other opening in said bracket andhaving a major portion of its length disposed at rightangles to saidfirst tie rod, scaffold board brackets on others of said uprights atsubstantially the same height as said first mentioned scaffold boardbracket, one of said scaffold board brackets lying parallel to saidfirst mentioned bracket and being detachably connected with an end ofsaid first tie rod, and another of said scaffold board brackets lying atan angle to said first mentioned bracket and having an end of saidsecond tie rod secured thereto.

5. A scaffold board bracket comprising, a horizontally disposed armhaving a reversely bent hook portion at one end of the same, and havingopposed tie rod openings therein spaced somewhat from said end of saidarm and a fork member connected to said arm below the same, the fork ofwhich opposes the hook shaped portion of said arm.

6. In a scafiolding, an upright, a scaffold board bracket, a braceconnector and a brace, said bracket having at one end thereof an upperhook facing in one direction and a lower hook facing in the oppositedirection, whereby the bracket can be hooked to the upright at anydesired level, means for retaining the bracket in place on the uprightat a desired level, said bracket having a recess between said hooks,said brace connector being of general U-shape in plan view and adaptedto be received within the recess of said bracket and to embrace theupright, said brace connector having arms with vertical opposed bracereceiving openings therein and the brace extending through said openingsand adapted to be connected to a building structure.

7. The structure defined in claim 6, said bracket having pairs ofopposed tie rod connecting openings in opposed parts of the hookedportion.

THERON S. CASTNER.

